Pomerene Health Foundation hosts 21st annual Fall Trail Run

The annual Pomerene Health Foundation Fall Trail Run offers a competitive half-marathon, 5k and 10k on Holmes County Rails to Trails. This year's event will take place on Saturday, Oct. 19.

While many people venture to Amish Country and venture along the Holmes County Rails to Trails in the fall to witness the scenery, change of color in the trees and the atmosphere, Pomerene Hospital will present an opportunity to experience all of those things along the trail in a very different and challenging way.

The Pomerene Health Foundation Fall Trail Run is set for Saturday, Oct. 19 at the Millersburg Hipp Station Depot along Holmes County Rails to Trails.

The Pomerene Health Foundation is an organization that helps supplement everything the hospital offers to the people of the communities it serves.

When this event began two decades ago, it was very appropriate for a medical facility like Pomerene Hospital to promote a race that benefits and enhances physical fitness and wellness.

While the event hasn’t changed a lot over the years, this year several alterations have been added to better serve the race participants.

“We wanted to try to keep things fresh and new,” race coordinator Ayla Uhl said. “We tried to add some things that would set us apart from some of the other races out there.”

Some of those changes include discounted registration rates, coffee at the event sponsored by Broken Grounds Coffee Company, goody bags with several local business promotions, and music entertainment before, during and after the event. Dr. Nicole Horn of Performance Foot and Ankle also will be on hand to provide foot education.

The addition of Horn to the event seems like a perfect fit considering how important keeping feet healthy is to every runner.

“This is our first time in having Dr. Horn come to the race, but her presence should be nice because she can talk to runners either in groups or individually about any issues they might be having or share some ideas how they can better care for their feet as runners,” Uhl said. “We felt this was a great way to provide our participants with some very valuable, additional information that could be very helpful to them.”

Sign-in on race day will begin at 6:30 a.m. or 30 minutes before the start of each event.

The trail run events include a competitive half-marathon of 13.1 miles, which will begin at 7 a.m.; a competitive 10k race of 6.2 miles, which will start at 7:30 a.m.; and a competitive 5k race of 3.1 miles, which will kick off at 8 a.m.

Unlike in past years when people could register through the mail, this year race registration will be done online or onsite the day of the race.

The preregistration fee for the half-marathon is $40 and includes a T-shirt and goody bag. Registration after Sept. 24 and day-of-the-event registration is $50.

The preregistration fee for the 10k race and 5k race is $25 and includes a T-shirt and goody bag. Registration after Sept. 24 and day-of-the-event registration is $35 with T-shirts and goody bags available while supplies last.